With the esports presence in the racing genre growing with each new title, Milestone’s MotoGP 17 will be the latest to join the competitive gaming movement.
The upcoming entry in the series will set a multi-year venture in motion alongside key players in the MotoGP franchise. Milestone will collaborate with PlayStation and license holders Dorna Sports to deliver “the most important racing championship” in the genre.
Interestingly enough, the push for esports came from Dorna itself. Milestone’s Marketing Manager, Andrea Loiudice, told gamesindustry.biz that the sports management team wanted to get into competitive gaming “immediately”. With work on MotoGP 17 well underway, the decision was made to start with a smaller championship and build from there.
MotoGP 17 will offer its official eSport Championship in a similar structure to that seen elsewhere in the genre. The competition will use time trials to rank players, with event structure mimicking that found in the real-word MotoGP calendar.
Dorna will invite top players to a live broadcast grand finals later this year. Details are thin in terms of prizes, but there will be a BMW M240i up for grabs. BMW is one of several real-world sponsors Dorna is bringing to the competition.
MotoGP 17 will hit stores on June 15, marking the beginning of Milestone and Dorna Sports’ ambitions of bringing esports to virtual motorcycle racing. Loiudice knows a TT-centric tournament isn’t the best solution, but it paves the way for the future of the series. Milestone is already targeting online championships and leagues for inclusion in next year’s entry.
Whilst titles like iRacing have hosted similar competitions for years, the expansion of interest is certainly good for racing fans. With GT Sport bringing FIA certification to sim racing and Forza’s continued efforts in its own ForzaRC Championship, the future is certainly looking bright for racing esports.
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